<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>all the way to the graveyard by ksootaeho</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27237916">all the way to the graveyard</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ksootaeho/pseuds/ksootaeho'>ksootaeho</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>fire on fire (zurin) [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Bisexual Zuko (Avatar), Blood Drinking, Death, Doppelganger, Halloween, M/M, Other: See Story Notes, Vampires</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 22:35:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,515</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27237916</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ksootaeho/pseuds/ksootaeho</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Love can make us seem insane, Zuko. The things we can do for love seem irrational and crazy, but if the end result is happiness, someone may be willing to do absolutely anything to attain it.”</p><p>in which zuko's college roommate is a vampire, and zuko is terrified of absolutely everything.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Zuko (Avatar)/Original Character(s), Zuko (Avatar)/Original Male Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>fire on fire (zurin) [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1998289</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>all the way to the graveyard</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>welcome to the zurin halloween special. if you were wondering where I've been, it's because of this monstrosity. your regularly scheduled zurin programming will continue now. if you aren't familiar with zurin, i will now direct you to the <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24512326/chapters/59174977">200k+ fic that azarin is from</a>, but it isn't necessary at all for you to read that to understand this. just know azarin is tall, dark, handsome, and has luscious hair.</p><p>trigger/content warnings: mentions of death, mentions of suicide, mentions of murder, blood.</p><p>the lore for this (and some other key points) was taken from the vampire diaries / the originals because i am tvd/to trash and proud to admit it.</p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3DDmbsUx1E36RsvagTNwKp?si=fExhKeqkQBencPL2-1aTlA">click to listen to the zurin playlist.</a></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Zuko clutches his date’s arm, eyes shutting tightly to avoid seeing any more blood on the screen in front of them. His heart is thumping hard in his chest because <em> why </em> did Jian want to come to a horror movie for their first date? Zuko becomes infinitely less sexy when he watches scary movies because he’s just so jumpy, and blood freaks him out, and when other people scream it triggers his fight or flight response. He’s been on edge the whole movie, and Jian doesn't even seem to care much. Maybe Zuko’s crush on him had just been surface level.</p><p> </p><p>When it’s finally over and they’re walking out of the theater and back to Jian’s car in the darkness, Zuko feels paranoid, like they’re being watched. He chalks it up to the movie.</p><p> </p><p>Jian kisses him before Zuko heads back into his apartment and there isn’t any magic there like Zuko thought there might be. He sighs as he heads into his room, making a mental note to tell Jian he thinks he’s straight. Maybe that will deter the other from asking him out again.</p><p> </p><p>“Date go badly?” A voice from the doorway makes Zuko jump, still paranoid from the movie, and his roommate laughs. “You <em> really </em> don't do scary movies, huh?”</p><p> </p><p>“You scared the <em> shit </em> out of me, Azarin,” Zuko says, throwing a pillow at him. “Don’t you have class tomorrow? Why are you up so late?”</p><p> </p><p>Azarin shrugs, smirk on his lips. “Had to make sure Zuzu made it home safely. I’d just be <em> so </em> devastated if my precious roommate was kidnapped by his date.”</p><p> </p><p>“You meet my sister <em> once </em> and now you won’t stop calling me that.” Zuko rolls his eyes as he sits on the edge of his bed. He still feels a little jumpy, even though Azarin’s familiar presence is reassuring enough. “And I <em> was </em> kidnapped. I was kidnapped and held hostage in a horror movie and the date wasn’t even worth it. He tasted like popcorn.”</p><p> </p><p>The laugh that Azarin emits is a little frustrating, because while Zuko <em> is </em> being dramatic, Azarin could have at least a little empathy for his bad date night. “Well, what else did you expect him to taste like after eating buttered popcorn for two hours straight?”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. “He could have chewed some gum after the movie to be considerate.”</p><p> </p><p>“You expected someone that took you to a horror movie on a first date after you <em> explicitly </em> told them you don't enjoy horror movies...to be considerate?” Azarin’s brow is raised in question, and Zuko feels like an idiot if he’s being honest.</p><p> </p><p>“I guess you’re right…” Zuko sighs, dropping back onto his bed dramatically. “I’m just gonna be alone forever, I guess.”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko doesn’t see it, but he’s pretty sure he can <em> feel </em> the eye roll coming from Azarin. “With that attitude, yeah, you will be. Anyway, I’m glad you made it back in one piece. I’m going to bed. Night.”</p><p> </p><p>Before Zuko can even respond to say goodnight, Azarin is gone. How does he always move so quickly? Zuko doesn’t even care to think about it because he’s kicking off his shoes and falling asleep in his clothes.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Zuko jumps. Awake, up, and out of bed. Running, he bursts into Azarin’s room and finds the other sitting awake on his phone while he’s in bed. He looks at Zuko in confusion. “May I help you?”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko’s heart is racing. His eyes look around in the darkness of Azarin’s room and he gets even more scared. The <em> thing </em> is gonna get him. He can’t be alone. “I...nightmare. Can I sleep in here with you? I know it’s stupid but that movie really fucked me up and—”</p><p> </p><p>“Sure,” Azarin interjects, sharp eyes on Zuko. If he’s being honest, Azarin’s stare almost always triggers his fight or flight response even more so than other people’s screams. Zuko doesn’t know why, but it doesn’t matter. He trusts Azarin. They’ve been living together for over a year now and even though the other is extremely private, he’s never given Zuko a reason not to trust him. Other than those sharp, predatory eyes of his. “Are you gonna keep staring at me or are you gonna get in bed? And why are you still in your date clothes?”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko gulps involuntarily. He had just been <em> so </em> tired...he hadn't even pulled his blanket over him when he fell asleep. He shrugs as he pulls off his shirt and strips down to his boxers. “I was tired and wanted to forget about the dumb date I had.” When Zuko slides into Azarin’s bed he expects it to be warm, he expects <em> Azarin </em> to be warm, but it’s just as chilly as the cold air around them in the room. Zuko shivers and regrets taking his shirt off. “Why do you keep it so cold in here? I’m freezing.”</p><p> </p><p>“Reminds me of home, I guess,” Azarin responds, and Zuko suddenly remembers Azarin telling him that he’s from some distant city up north, where the weather is only warm for two months of the year. Zuko supposes that adds up.</p><p> </p><p>“And why don’t you ever sleep? Every time I see you in the middle of the night, you’re awake.” Zuko doesn’t know where these questions are coming from but if Azarin is willing to answer them then he’s going to keep asking.</p><p> </p><p>Azarin shifts a little, locking his phone and placing it face down on the bed between them. He laces his fingers together delicately, looking down at where Zuko is lying next to him. “I think it’s time for you to sleep, Zuko. You’re getting too comfy.”</p><p> </p><p>“We live together,” Zuko huffs out. His eyes wash over Azarin’s bare chest and abdomen for a moment and he briefly wonders how the other is <em> only </em> twenty years old if he’s so ridiculously ripped. Zuko’s gaze goes back to Azarin’s face to find the smallest hint of a smirk on his lips. “We <em> should </em> be comfy with each other, don’t you think?”</p><p> </p><p>Azarin doesn’t answer. He moves down the bed, and from the small night light in the room Zuko can see his pupils dilate as they lock eyes. Zuko can’t look away for some reason and he starts to panic when Azarin speaks. “Sleep.”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko falls asleep immediately.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>It’s dusk the next day before Zuko sees Azarin again. He assumes Azarin has a late class and ate lunch off campus or something, so he doesn’t worry. He got a <em> lot </em> of sleep the night before, so much that he missed his first class of the day but Zuko doesn’t really care. He hasn't slept that hard since he was in high school and he wonders if it was because he had someone in bed with him. Ever since his chemical spill accident that left him with a burn scar on majority of the left side of his face, his hearing in his left ear has diminished. He’s always afraid something bad is going to happen in the middle of the night and he won’t hear it, he won’t wake up, so he only ever halfway sleeps anymore. For the last three years, Zuko hasn’t gotten proper rest, until last night. Maybe all he needs is a cuddle buddy.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> A new development in the vampire world has made it possible for vampires to spend longer in the sunlight, and thus able to work normal hours in jobs as opposed to night shifts. The sunscreen, created by Zhao Vampire Industries, must be worn on all exposed skin and only has to be reapplied once every six hours as opposed to the previous two hours. ZVI says this may lead to humans meeting more vampires in their daily lives, but that we shouldn’t be afraid, and most vampires wish to be treated just as any other human. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Zuko stares at the television across the room, instead of his homework, and he really hates himself for turning on the news as background noise instead of music. Vampires freak him out because blood freaks him out, and the last time he met a vampire they tried to bite him and Zuko swore he would never knowingly interact with one again. He still isn’t used to even knowing they exist and he knows it’ll take him a while to be okay with them. He hates that he’s even slightly intolerant because his uncle taught him that everyone should be treated equally, no matter their status, race, or species...but Zuko is jumpy, and vampires are the things that go bump in the night. He’ll come around eventually. Maybe.</p><p> </p><p>“Vampires, Zuko? Are you <em> trying </em> to freak yourself out so you can’t sleep?” Azarin’s voice comes from the foyer and he rounds the corner with a smile on his face, glancing over at the TV before looking back to Zuko. “Oh, I get it. You wanna sleep in my bed again, don't you?”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko whines in that dramatic way he does, dropping his face into his hands. He takes in a deep breath before responding. “Vampires are people just like you and me.” He sounds like he’s reciting a line he forgot from an index card. He knows he isn’t convincing.</p><p> </p><p>Azarin stifles a laugh. “You sound like you’re telling yourself that. Vampires are people, yeah, but I wouldn’t expect <em> you, </em> the scaredy cat of the century, to <em> actually </em> believe that.”</p><p> </p><p>“They drink <em> human blood, </em> Azarin!” Zuko exclaims, dropping his hands down on the table as he looks up at the other. “Blood freaks me out! Vampires freak me out! I try to tolerate their existence but it’s just hard for me, you know? Even the romanticized vampires are still scary to me. They’re still deadly.”</p><p> </p><p>Azarin actually lets out a laugh at this, taking a few steps toward Zuko and leaning down against the table so they make eye contact. The thought that Azarin is insanely beautiful crosses Zuko’s mind. “Are you afraid Edward Cullen is going to show up in your room at night to tell you how beautiful you are in your sleep?”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko rolls his eyes and begins closing his notebooks and textbooks, grabbing his laptop from the table as he stands. Beautiful or not, Azarin still acts like a dick sometimes. “I’m not gonna stay here while you make fun of me.”</p><p> </p><p>“You think Damon Salvatore is gonna smolder you to death?” Azarin is following him and Zuko is rushing down the hallway so fast that he drops his textbook, then <em> trips </em> over it, and he is fully prepared to hit his head against the closed door to his bedroom but he doesn’t. Azarin has his arm around Zuko’s waist to prevent him from falling and Zuko would laugh at how cheesy of a moment this is if he weren’t staring up at Azarin’s sharp eyes boring into him. Azarin stands Zuko upright and hands him his textbook. “You’re too clumsy for your own good.”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko’s breath gets caught in his throat as he realizes just how close he and Azarin are to each other, Azarin’s strong hold on his waist, Azarin’s dark eyes looking at him with something in them that Zuko can’t exactly put a name to. In another instant he shoves Azarin away and turns to slam his bedroom door shut.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>“You know, Zuko,” Sokka is speaking with his mouth full of food again, but has the decency to swallow it before continuing. <em> “Everyone </em> has a crush on your roommate. And you <em> live </em> with him, but you don’t? Are you even gay?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m bisexual,” Zuko immediately responds, offended, and rolls his eyes, shaking his head. “Why is it that every time you force me into taking you out to lunch, you bring up Azarin? He’s just a guy I live with. I don’t wanna make that weird for both of us.”</p><p> </p><p>“So you don’t think he’s hot?”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Of course I do, Sokka, but that doesn’t mean--”</p><p> </p><p>“If I were you, I would have jumped his bones a <em> long </em> time ago,” Sokka cuts him off, shrugging, and Zuko starts to wonder why they’re even friends to begin with.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I’m not you, and my dick doesn’t have a mind of its own.” Zuko sips his water and gives Sokka a pointed look. “You should really look into why you’re constantly horny. It can’t be natural.”</p><p> </p><p>Sokka ignores him yet again, and they spend a few minutes just eating until Sokka’s eyes widen and he seems to get excited. “Oh! I meant to tell you I saw him with Katara the other day. What if he’s one of those people obsessively in love with vampires and wants her to turn him?!”</p><p> </p><p>“Katara? Your super old grandma that came here to go to college with you like some lunatic?” Zuko is still shocked sometimes that Sokka’s centuries-old vampire grandmother keeps up with her descendants and likes knowing them enough to go to college over and over again just to be around them. If a vampire ever did that to him, Zuko thinks he’d have a heart attack. “I don’t think Azarin is one of <em> those </em> people, though. He probably just isn’t scared of them and likes her as a person.”</p><p> </p><p>Sokka nods looking contemplative. “She <em> is </em> pretty great. What if they’re dating? They seemed pretty chummy when I saw them…”</p><p> </p><p>“Ew,” is Zuko’s immediate response, because the thought of dating someone that old is just...<em> gross. </em> “Besides, he’s gay, anyway.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm...I thought he was bi. We do tend to run in packs.” Sokka smiles brightly, which makes Zuko laugh even if the other is being annoying.</p><p> </p><p>Once they’ve paid and are walking back to campus, Zuko continues the conversation. “Hey, since you mentioned our pack of bisexuals, how’s Suki been since she started working?”</p><p> </p><p>“Busy,” Sokka shrugs, face falling. “I haven’t seen her in days, honestly. I guess that’s the price I have to pay for dating an older woman.”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko slings an arm over Sokka’s shoulder to reassure him. “I’d hardly call what you guys do <em> dating. </em> But I know you work well together and I’m bummed she isn’t around much anymore, too.” Suki is fun, and Zuko is not, and Suki brings Zuko out of his shell most of the time when he would otherwise hole himself up and not have any kind of fun whatsoever. He wishes he weren’t so uptight sometimes, but it’s just how he is. He’s trying to grow out of it, though.</p><p> </p><p>“Zuko?” The familiar voice catches his attention and he looks ahead of where he and Sokka are walking to see Azarin and...a <em> very </em> pretty girl that Zuko can only assume is Katara, considering how much she and Sokka look alike. “I didn’t know you were dating Katara’s relative.”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko immediately lets go of Sokka and shoves him away. “You know I’m not. I’d never date a twerp like Sokka.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, now, be nice,” Katara chimes in, and her voice is soft and melodic and enchanting. Zuko could listen to her speak all day, if he didn’t know she’s a vampire. “Sokka isn’t <em> that </em> much of a twerp.”</p><p> </p><p>Even though her comment is amusing, Zuko only smiles a little and moves his eyes back to Azarin. “I didn’t know <em> you </em> were dating Sokka’s relative.”</p><p> </p><p>“You know I’m not,” Azarin mocks him, with a smile to follow it. “We met in class and became close friends. Katara is nice to spend time with. Old souls and whatnot.”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko doesn’t exactly believe that for some reason, but he isn’t going to question it, and Sokka speaks before he even gets the chance to. “Are you <em> entirely </em> sure you aren’t bisexual, Azarin? You and Katara make a cute couple.”</p><p> </p><p>Azarin and Katara both burst into laughter as Zuko smacks Sokka in the chest for being so rude. Zuko has to <em> live </em> with Azarin and if Sokka keeps embarrassing him like this, he knows he’ll never hear the end of it. Just once, Zuko wants Sokka to keep his mouth shut. That will never, ever happen.</p><p> </p><p>“I could be,” Azarin finally responds, leaning an arm casually on Katara’s shoulder. She barely moves under his weight and Zuko guesses it’s vampire strength; he’s in the middle of trying to remain calm when Azarin’s eyes lock with his. <em> Shit, </em> there’s that predatory look again. “But at the moment, I’m strictly into men. Sorry that I can’t join your bisexual biker gang, or whatever it is you guys do.”</p><p> </p><p>“We aren’t a biker gang, but that’s actually a cool idea…” Sokka trails off and Zuko is going to lose his mind if he has to endure this conversation any longer.</p><p> </p><p>Zuko takes Sokka’s wrist and pulls him past the other two. “We’re late for class. I’ll see you later, Azarin. And, uh...it was nice meeting you, I guess.” He can’t hear if they say anything in response because Sokka is protesting loudly. Part of him is glad that Sokka is so loud for once.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>“Hey,” Azarin’s voice comes from the doorway, and Zuko looks up from his phone to see the other bare chested, hair wet, and a towel around his waist. It isn’t abnormal, but after all of Sokka’s talk the other day about how Zuko should be jumping Azarin’s bones, Zuko can’t stop thinking about Azarin in <em> that </em> way sometimes. It isn’t too often, but often enough to unsettle him around his roommate most of the time. “Would you mind if I invited Katara over for dinner tonight? I’m gonna cook. You’re welcome to join us, or stay holed up in your room studying. Your call.”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko blinks up at Azarin from his computer screen. A vampire? In his <em> house? </em> Just the thought of it has a slight panic bubbling up within him, but he tries to remain as calm as possible when he answers. “I...I guess that’s okay. She’s your friend. She’s welcome here any time…this is your apartment, too.”</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t sound too sure of yourself,” Azarin responds, brow raised, arms crossed over his chest. Zuko notices his biceps and immediately looks away. “She doesn’t have to if you aren’t comfortable. She understands being wary of vampires.”</p><p> </p><p><em> Great. </em> Katara understands that Zuko is a complete child when it comes to scary shit, and that includes her entire existence. Zuko doesn’t <em> want </em> to be this way and if he wants any chance of growing out of it and becoming more tolerant of vampires, he has to put in more effort. Closing his laptop and letting out a sigh, Zuko stands from his desk and moves past Azarin in the doorway, toward the bathroom in the hallway. “I’m <em> not </em> wary, and like I said, if she’s your friend then she’s welcome here. I’m curious to see you cook so yeah, I’ll join.”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko shuts the door to the bathroom and starts the shower before Azarin can argue with him again.</p><p> </p><p>So, Azarin <em> can </em> cook. When Zuko gets out of the shower he’s pleasantly hit with the scent of fresh food and he follows it to the kitchen, where Azarin is facing the stovetop and Katara is...leaning against the counter next to him. And Zuko is shirtless. She smiles at him and her <em> fangs </em> glisten in the kitchen light; Zuko’s heart speeds up.</p><p> </p><p>“Nice to see you again, Zuko. You’re looking extremely well,” she ends her sentence with her eyes washing over him and Zuko would think she’s flirting with him if she weren’t...what she is.</p><p> </p><p>Azarin turns from where he’s cooking and when he sees Zuko he actually <em> laughs. </em> “I guess I should have told you she was coming early. Oops.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, <em> oops,” </em> Zuko’s tone is sharp, even though he feels like he wants to melt into the floor from the way both of them are staring at him. “Anyway...it smells good. I’m gonna go put clothes on.” He moves to leave, but in an instant, Katara is in front of him and smiling and tilting her head to the side in <em> that way that vampires do </em> and Zuko thinks he’s gonna pass the fuck out.</p><p> </p><p>“Clothes aren’t necessary for someone as pretty as you,” she says, and she’s for sure flirting with him, but it’s probably just a joke she’s playing on him because how could a <em> really </em> old vampire that’s met thousands of people in their lifetime find <em> him </em> attractive?</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t like being made fun of,” Zuko grumbles, arms wrapped around himself a little to cover his exposed skin. <em> “You </em> of all people do not think scar boy is pretty.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not making fun of you, Zuko,” Katara’s voice is a little softer this time, and she seems...concerned? But that can’t be right. She’s only just met him and she’s a vampire. Why would she care about a measly human’s life? “Do you really think your scar makes you ugly?”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko doesn’t know how to answer because yes, he absolutely thinks that, but he isn’t about to get into his deepest insecurities with someone he barely knows. Someone that’s a <em> vampire </em>. “I’m...I’m gonna go get dressed...and hope when I come back it won’t be this awkward…”</p><p> </p><p>“Zuko—” Azarin starts, but Zuko is already gone.</p><p> </p><p>When he does come back, fully clothed this time, it’s a lot less awkward. Katara isn’t flirting with him and Zuko is grateful, because this way he can actually get to know her without feeling like he’s being hunted or primed for a meal. She’s nice, and funny, and kind, and she and Azarin seem like good friends. They work well together and Zuko can definitely see what Sokka was seeing when he said they’d make a cute couple, but Zuko isn’t going to be absolutely rude and just blurt that out like Sokka did. Besides, Azarin is gay.</p><p> </p><p>Azarin is gay…</p><p> </p><p><em> Is </em> Azarin gay? Zuko has never seen him bring home a date or a hookup or even flirt with someone before. He’s <em> said </em> that he’s gone on dates, but Zuko has never seen it with his own eyes. Azarin will just leave and come back a few hours later, say he was on a date, and Zuko believes him. Zuko has never heard Azarin talk about hooking up with someone, either. Then again, Azarin is an <em> extremely </em> private person. Zuko barely knows anything about his family, and up until seeing him with Katara he thought Azarin only ever has acquaintances, not <em> friends. </em> Zuko has no idea how Azarin makes money for rent but he isn’t going to ask, no matter how curious he is. Azarin’s life isn’t his business, even if they live together.</p><p> </p><p>When Katara leaves, Zuko is actually a little sad to see her go. Her presence is soothing somehow and for once, Zuko isn’t chalking it up to her being a vampire. She’s just a genuinely good person, and Zuko is proud of himself for seeing that...even if the only reason why he’s seeing it might be all the wine he’s had.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you enjoy the food?”</p><p> </p><p>Azarin’s voice comes from directly behind him and Zuko jumps a little, loudly dropping the pan he’d been cleaning down into the sink. He turns around and huffs. “You gotta stop doing that. And yes, I did. You’re a very good cook. Although, I’m not sure why you decided to cook a meal for a vampire.”</p><p> </p><p>“Vampires can eat human food, but it’s only for the taste.” Azarin is just a <em> little </em> too close to Zuko for comfort. Or maybe it is comforting, and Zuko is drunk. “You got along with Katara pretty well...I was shocked.”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko smiles a little. “I’m full of surprises.”</p><p> </p><p>“You are.” Azarin’s eyes flash with something that Zuko wants to identify, but it’s gone as quickly as it came. His gaze flits across Zuko’s features for a moment and Zuko feels like he’s underneath a microscope, but it isn’t unpleasant. When Azarin speaks again, his voice holds the smallest of pleading tones in it. “You can slap me if I’m crossing a line, but I just need you to know that you’re beautiful, Zuko. Your scar doesn’t mean you’re not pretty.”</p><p> </p><p>This makes color fill Zuko’s cheeks because it’s the <em> last </em> thing he expects Azarin to say. Zuko averts his eyes from Azarin. “Thank you, Azarin...that’s really sweet…”</p><p> </p><p>“In fact,” Azarin continues, with a small smile on his lips. “Katara <em> really </em> wants to fuck you.”</p><p> </p><p>“She...<em> what?” </em> Zuko can’t believe what he’s hearing. He can’t believe the flirting was real.</p><p> </p><p>Azarin nods, then gives a shrug before he leans forward and cages Zuko between his arms, hands gripping the edge of the counter on either side of him. Zuko’s heart is thumping hard as he watches Azarin swipe his tongue over his bottom lip. “Yeah. But I won’t let her.”</p><p> </p><p>Maybe it’s the alcohol and the anxiety of Azarin being so close, but Zuko <em> swears </em> he hears that wrong. “Y-You...won’t <em> let </em> her?”</p><p> </p><p>Leaning next to Zuko’s ear, one of Azarin’s hands moves to rest at Zuko’s hip. Zuko is losing his mind but all he can do is stand there. “I have other plans for you.”</p><p> </p><p>Azarin is absolutely and posituvely <em>so fucking</em> <em>gay.</em> He pulls back to look at Zuko and his eyes have <em>that</em> look in them again, and Zuko now realizes that it’s desire. How couldn’t he see that before?</p><p> </p><p>Zuko is so completely bewildered by what’s happening that he doesn’t think his actions through before he moves forward and crashes his lips into Azarin’s own. He’ll blame it on the wine later, because how can he pass up the opportunity to make out with his hot roommate that apparently everyone else has a crush on?</p><p> </p><p>Azarin is <em> really </em> good at kissing. Zuko’s drunk mind is struggling to keep up with how good it is. Azarin’s lips are soft and they move slowly against his, and when Zuko pushes his tongue out to deepen the kiss, Azarin opens his mouth to allow him in. Once again, Zuko thinks he’s going to pass out because this is a hundred percent the best kiss he’s ever had and he’s having it with his extremely hot roommate. And Azarin is holding Zuko’s hips with both hands now, and his grip is strong and Zuko feels like putty underneath Azarin’s hands, especially when Azarin pulls Zuko around to press his back against the kitchen table until Zuko bends back to lie down on it. Zuko lets out an embarrassing moan into Azarin’s mouth but he doesn’t care, because his dick is starting to get hard and Azarin is leaning over him while they kiss and his thigh is just <em> barely </em> rubbing between Zuko’s legs and it feels like the best and worst kind of tease all at the same time.</p><p> </p><p>When Zuko wraps his legs around Azarin’s hips to pull him closer, Azarin’s hands slide down his thighs to squeeze them through Zuko’s jeans and the grip is <em> really </em> strong, almost too strong, but either way Zuko enjoys it. His head is fuzzy from alcohol and arousal and he wants Azarin to touch him <em> everywhere, </em> he wants Azarin to make him pliant and willing to do anything he wants Zuko to do. At this point, Zuko would get on his knees right here and now and beg Azarin to fuck him, but that’s embarrassing and Zuko isn’t going to give Azarin fuel to make fun of him. Yet.</p><p> </p><p>Azarin breaks the kiss and Zuko gasps for air he hadn’t realized he was missing, only to moan out when Azarin starts kissing and sucking and licking down his neck. Zuko’s hips roll up into Azarin’s leg to get some much needed friction and it takes half a second longer for Azarin to start unbuttoning Zuko’s jeans, sliding the zipper down and dipping his hand into his underwear to wrap his hand around Zuko’s hardening length.</p><p> </p><p>Zuko groans so loud that he’s sure their neighbors will hear it, but he doesn’t care. “Azarin, <em> fuck, </em> that feels so good…” He barely registers that he’s even speaking, because the way Azarin’s hand is pumping his cock mixed with the way his lips and tongue are moving against his neck is almost too much sensation all at once. Zuko bucks his hips up into Azarin’s hand over and over again, moaning all the while, and when he feels sharp teeth against the nape of his neck he thinks nothing of it and just groans at the feeling of more pleasure flooding him over.</p><p> </p><p>Azarin bites down on Zuko’s neck and the amount of pleasure that fills Zuko’s body is indescribable. He moans loud enough for it to be considered a scream, and there’s the warmest, tingliest sensation happening where Azarin’s mouth is attached to his neck but it’s good, it feels <em> so good, </em> and Zuko’s pleasure is mounting far too soon into this dry handjob because of it. He comes with a cry of Azarin’s name, spilling cum all over Azarin’s hand and his own underwear as he fucks up into the hand squeezing his cock. He feels spent almost immediately, chest rising and falling rapidly with his breaths as that warm tingly feeling nearly consumes him, starting and ending with Azarin’s mouth on his neck.</p><p> </p><p>As Zuko comes down from the high of his orgasm, Azarin pulls away from his neck and it’s...painful? The sharp pain of Azarin’s teeth being removed from his neck pushes Zuko into sobriety a lot faster than he’d have liked, but <em> holy shit </em> Azarin had bit him and drank his blood and Azarin is a <em> vampire. </em> Zuko feels like an absolute imbecile for not seeing this sooner, for not realizing it before Azarin fucking <em> bit </em> him.</p><p> </p><p>Zuko uses all the strength he has left in him to shove Azarin away, and even before losing blood directly from his neck it would have been a miracle if he ever moved Azarin on his own. This is no different; Azarin doesn’t move and Zuko’s eyes fill with tears because the anger he’s feeling is unlike anything he’s ever experienced in his life.</p><p> </p><p>“Get off me,” he says, and his voice cracks a little but he doesn’t care. All he cares about is getting away from Azarin, who’s staring at him with sadness in his eyes and blood dripping from his lips. Zuko’s heart speeds up and fear pours down his spine as he starts struggling underneath Azarin. “Get the <em> fuck </em> off of me, Azarin.”</p><p> </p><p>“Zuko…” Azarin starts, and his hands come up to pin Zuko’s wrists to the table. It’s easy for him to do because he’s a fucking <em> vampire </em> with inhuman strength. “Please just let me explain…”</p><p> </p><p>“Explain <em> what? </em> That you’ve been lying to me this entire time? Trying to manipulate me into liking vampires so I’d like <em> you? </em> This whole dinner was probably just a way for you to get me drunk so you could bite me. You <em> bit </em> me, Azarin!” Zuko’s voice is significantly louder at the end of his tirade than it had been at the beginning, and he keeps trying to get away from Azarin but he can’t. He’s forced to look at Azarin. “Let me <em> go, </em> asshole!”</p><p> </p><p>To Zuko’s surprise, Azarin lets him go. Zuko immediately jumps up, quickly rushing to his room while zipping and buttoning his jeans together again. He rips open the drawers in his dresser and pulls out clothes, throwing them on the bed then moving to the closet to get out his spare backpack to put them all in. His tears flow down his cheeks heavily but he wipes them away the best he can while he packs. He isn’t surprised to see Azarin in the doorway when he looks up, but Zuko ignores him.</p><p> </p><p>“Where are you going?” He asks, stupidly, and Zuko shakes his head but doesn’t answer. Azarin sighs and steps in the room. “Zuko, I’m sorry, okay? I’m really fucking sorry. You have no idea how many times I’ve wanted to tell you, but you’re just so scared of <em> everything </em> that I felt like you’d be afraid of me and I didn’t want that. I didn’t want you to see me any differently.”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko stops stuffing clothes into his backpack to face Azarin. The blood is gone from his lips but Zuko can see his fangs still and wonders how long they’ll be extended, maybe Azarin’s predatory body still thinks it’s going to get another meal. “We <em> live </em> together, Azarin! It’s been a year, a whole <em> year </em> that you could have told me you aren’t even fucking human! But I guess a year to you is just the blink of an eye, right? How old <em> are </em> you, anyway?”</p><p> </p><p>Azarin looks away for a few seconds before responding. “Four hundred eighty-nine.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re almost five hundred years old and this is the first I’m learning of it,” Zuko’s tone is accusatory and harsh. “You let me make out with you, you jerked me off, you <em> bit me and drank my blood </em> before you ever told me exactly how old you are. Don’t you see how fucked up that is, Azarin?”</p><p> </p><p>“I do, and I’m sorry,” Azarin’s voice holds sincerity, but Zuko is just too angry to even acknowledge it. “I never meant for this to happen...I was trying to get you around Katara so you’d be okay with vampires and maybe even be her friend and then I’d tell you about me and maybe you’d want to be with me. But then you kissed me and it just felt so good…”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko scoffs. “So good you had to fucking bite me?”</p><p> </p><p>“You have <em> no idea </em> how good your blood smells, and when it was right there under my mouth I just...I couldn’t control myself, and I’m sorry, Zuko. I hate that I did this to you because I really, <em> really </em> care about you, more than you think.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I wouldn’t know how much you care about me because you haven’t said a damn word about it or anything else about you for the last year of our lives, Azarin.” Going back to packing his things, Zuko tries not to look at Azarin again, because seeing the pain and hurt in his face is going to make Zuko’s resolve crumble. He’s never, <em> ever </em> seen Azarin look this sad. “I can’t believe a five hundred year old vampire is this stupid. Haven’t you lived, like, ten lifetimes? Don’t you know how to control yourself by now?”</p><p> </p><p>He hears Azarin sigh again. “This goes a lot deeper than just bloodlust, Zuko. There’s a lot you don’t know.”</p><p> </p><p>“Again, I don’t know because <em> you won’t tell me,” </em> Zuko says this as he forcefully zips his backpack shut and grabs his laptop and school bag, slinging it over his shoulder and throwing the backpack with his clothes over the other.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll tell you,” Azarin responds, sounding desperate. “Just stay and talk to me. <em> Please.” </em></p><p> </p><p>Looking up at Azarin again, Zuko shakes his head. “I’m not staying here. I’m getting the hell away from you because I don’t like being around people who lie and manipulate me.” He goes to push past him, but Azarin stops him. Zuko lets out a long and shaking breath, trying to keep himself calm. “Get <em> out </em> of my way, Azarin.”</p><p> </p><p>“You have to let me heal you...you’ll be a sitting duck for other vampires if that wound isn’t closed.” Azarin sounds genuinely concerned and Zuko would find it endearing if the situation wasn’t so fucked up at the moment.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m a sitting duck for <em> you,” </em> he says, shoving past Azarin, but the other just uses that vampire speed of his to block him again. Zuko grips the straps of his bags tighter. “I’ll be fine. I don’t want or need your help.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not trying to manipulate you, Zuko, I’m trying to save your life,” Azarin reaches out to take Zuko’s shoulders in his hands but Zuko pulls back from him. Azarin steps forward until Zuko is against the wall. <em> “Please </em> let me heal you. All you have to do is take a few drops of my blood and—”</p><p> </p><p>“Your <em> blood?!” </em> Zuko exclaims, because what the <em> actual </em> fuck? Azarin is insane, Azarin is a vampire and he’s insane, and Zuko is so, so fucked now. “Get away from me right now before I fucking kill you.” Of course, he doesn’t exactly know how he’s going to do that unless he can pull a wooden stake out of thin air, but Azarin seems to get the message. He steps aside and lets Zuko leave.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>“Azarin <em> what?!” </em> Sokka’s eyes are wide as he stares at Zuko in the doorway. Zuko pulls back his shirt, showing the drying blood and bite mark there. Sokka’s mouth hangs open and he looks like he wants to say something else, but in a flash of dark hair and a blue dress, Zuko is inside and the door is closed.</p><p> </p><p>“That is an <em> open wound, </em> Zuko, are you stupid?” Katara’s voice is stern, not at all like how it had been earlier that night when she was flirting with him. “Did you <em> walk </em> here with blood on you? Why didn’t Azarin heal you?”</p><p> </p><p>“I wouldn’t let him,” Zuko responds, trying not to freak out on Katara. He might have forgotten that Sokka lives in <em> her </em> house.</p><p> </p><p>Katara sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers in what looks like frustration. “So you <em> are </em> stupid.” She looks up at him, shaking her head. “Do you realize you were probably followed? You’ve put Sokka in danger now, too.”</p><p> </p><p>“I wasn’t going to let him touch me again! And I for sure wasn’t gonna drink his fucking blood!” Zuko’s voice is rising, and he doesn’t want it to because this is Katara’s house and if she gets pissed off, he’ll have to go to Aang’s dorm and Zuko knows he’ll get attacked by a vampire on campus. It happens all the time to people who <em> aren’t </em> already bleeding from their neck. He lowers his voice a little. “Did you know? Of course you did, you’re a vampire, you know when someone else isn’t alive. Did you <em> actually </em> meet each other in class?”</p><p> </p><p>Katara sighs. “Yes...a hundred years ago.”</p><p> </p><p>“What? You <em> already </em> knew Azarin?” Sokka sounds shocked, and rightfully so. Vampires think they can just leave out important details like this because they’re “protecting” the humans around them. It’s manipulative, Zuko thinks.</p><p> </p><p>“Not now, Sokka,” Katara dismisses him quickly as she steps toward Zuko, who takes a step back. “You need to heal that wound before you get yourself and Sokka killed.”</p><p> </p><p>Shaking his head, Zuko backs away more, toward the hall he knows leads to Sokka’s room. “I’m not drinking your blood. That’s disgusting.”</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t <em> have </em> to drink my blood, idiot! Did you even let Azarin explain how it works before you freaked out and left?” Katara sounds irritated and her fangs flash in her mouth as she speaks. Zuko thinks for a moment and realizes that, no, he didn’t let Azarin explain anything before he left because he didn’t <em> want </em> to stay and have Azarin manipulate him more. But maybe he was pretty impulsive and reckless when he just...walked through the night with blood all over him and an open wound on his neck.</p><p> </p><p>“Fine,” Zuko says, dropping his bags on the floor and crossing his arms over his chest. “What do I have to do?”</p><p> </p><p>Katara speeds to him, and if that wasn’t enough, she pricks the tip of her finger on her fang then pulls back Zuko’s shirt, squeezing two drops of blood onto the fang wounds. Immediately, Zuko feels warmth filling the side of his neck but it’s gone just as quickly. Katara steps back and looks smug. “That’s literally it. That’s all you have to do for bite wounds. If it were any bigger or deeper then yeah you’d have to drink vampire blood, but I know Azarin and he wouldn’t want you to do that unless absolutely necessary.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I apparently <em> don’t </em> know Azarin, so I wasn’t about to trust him with my life when he literally just broke any and all trust I had in him before.” Zuko rubs his neck and feels nothing there, no pain, no wounds, not even a dull ache of a bruise. It freaks him out a little but he keeps it internal. He’s pissed at the moment.</p><p> </p><p>“What even happened?” Sokka chimes in again, putting a hand on Zuko’s shoulder. “Did he just randomly bite you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Impossible,” Katara interjects, shaking her head. “Azarin would never do that. He values human life too much. He’d have to be absolutely starving to do that, and I know for a fact he had a fresh bag of blood just a day or two ago.” She pauses, and her eyes widen with realization and Zuko is scared to find out what it is. He has a feeling he knows by the way a smug smile forms on her lips. “In fact, Azarin really only ever bites humans when he’s fucking them.”</p><p> </p><p>Of course Katara knows exactly what happened, why wouldn’t she? She <em> knows </em> Azarin and Zuko doesn’t. Katara has known Azarin for a century and Zuko has only known Azarin for a single percent of that time. Zuko feeling betrayed that Azarin hasn’t told him anything is starting to make him feel stupid, but he’s in too deep now. He can’t just change his mind and go back home, because he <em> definitely </em> doesn’t want to face the sadness in Azarin’s eyes again. He wants to be angry, even if it’s just for one night.</p><p> </p><p>“I…” Zuko starts, swallowing back the growing lump in his throat as he feels a blush creep into his cheeks. “We didn’t <em> fuck.” </em></p><p> </p><p>“But you <em> did </em> do something sexual?!” Sokka asks, his face lighting up, and when Zuko nods he starts jumping up and down excitedly. “Oh man, how was it? What happened?”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko sighs. He picks up his bags again. “Are you forgetting the part where Azarin has been <em> lying </em> to me for over a year, the part where he <em> bit me?” </em></p><p> </p><p>Sokka shakes his head, but shrugs. “Not forgetting, that’s just on the backburner at the moment because <em> apparently </em> the only reason he bit you was because you guys were doing something <em> sexual </em> and I wanna know what that is!”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sure he’ll tell Katara and she can tell you.” When he looks at Katara, she seems sad and Zuko can hear how defeated he sounds, but he doesn't even try to mask it at this point. His eyes go back to Sokka. “I’m going to sleep, I have class tomorrow. Guest room is next to yours, right?”</p><p> </p><p>Sokka nods, and Zuko goes straight there and right to sleep.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Even though his excuse to go to bed was class, he skips them all the next day. He doesn’t even feel like getting out of bed but he does to shower and find food, shocked that there’s actually good human food in the fridge next to the...bags of blood. Zuko chooses to ignore it.</p><p> </p><p>It’s late afternoon when his phone dings, and Zuko picks it up without thinking. It’s a text from Azarin, and when Zuko sees it his heart speeds up.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I’d really like to talk to you. Text me back if you can, or call me, or come home. I’ll be here. Again...I’m sorry for everything. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Zuko reads the message over and over again, trying to find any hidden undertones or negative intentions behind it. He comes up short, but he doesn’t even know how to respond. Does he want to talk to Azarin? Does he want to open himself up to be manipulated more? Zuko had jumped the gun on assuming Azarin wanted him to drink his blood, and he definitely put himself and Sokka in danger last night just like both Katara and Azarin had said. Maybe he should give Azarin a chance to explain himself...then he can go back to ignoring him after.</p><p> </p><p>Zuko types out a text, then deletes it, then types it out again, then edits it, then gets frustrated and closes his phone. Zuko buries himself underneath the blankets on his bed. He doesn’t know what to say, or if his message should be angry or receptive. Half of him wants to just forget about all of it and move on like it never happened, go back home, and deal with Azarin being a vampire. Even if he does that, though, he won’t be able to forget the way Azarin kissed him, the way Azarin touched him, or the way Azarin’s fangs in his neck actually felt so fucking <em> good-- </em></p><p> </p><p>No. Zuko refuses to finish that thought. Angry. He has to be angry. If he’s not, he’s afraid of what he might feel.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I don’t want to talk to you. All you’re gonna do is lie to me like you have for the last year. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Even though his heart is beating wildly, Zuko sends the text, not surprised when he sees the typing bubble pop up in the chat with Azarin almost immediately after. He only has to wait a few more seconds for a response.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I’m not going to lie to you. Not anymore. I’m sorry for hurting you, Zuko, but all I want to do is tell you the truth. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Zuko runs a hand through his hair and lets out a long sigh, hands shaking a little as he tries to type out a response. He’s lost his edge already, because Azarin seems so genuine and he’s starting to feel guilty for making Azarin feel so horrible for just...being himself. The thought of kissing Azarin floats through his mind again and Zuko recalls just how passionate Azarin had been. In the moment he could write it off as lust or the wine getting to them both, but Azarin didn’t have that much wine and now that Zuko knows he’s a vampire, it wouldn’t have affected Azarin as much, anyway. So why was Azarin so passionate?</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Why do you care so much? I’m just a human you’ll outlive. I shouldn’t matter to you so much that you’re begging for my forgiveness. Just get over it. I’ll be dead in the blink of an eye. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>So maybe Zuko is being a bit overdramatic, but he wants to keep himself upset because if he doesn’t, he’ll give in to Azarin far too easily. He knows he will, because even just thinking about Azarin being close to him again is making him squirm in his bed and rethink the text he’s already sent. When Azarin responds, it isn’t what Zuko expects, even if he didn’t exactly know <em> what </em> he was expecting to begin with.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> That’s what I want to talk to you about. You don’t know everything, but I want you to know. You deserve to know. Please give me a chance to explain everything to you so you’re not left in the dark anymore. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Zuko’s breath gets heavier for some reason. Thinking about having a conversation with Azarin face to face is overwhelming. Zuko’s hand goes to the side of his neck, where Azarin had bit him, rubbing the healed skin there and thinking. He can’t be around Azarin. He now knows that Azarin won’t bite him again, but even just thinking about it has Zuko in a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions that he doesn’t want to even begin to deal with at the moment. He and Azarin <em> do </em> need to talk, though...maybe a phone call is the best option at the moment.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Are you busy? You can call, if you want. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>It takes probably ten seconds after Zuko sends the message for Azarin to call him. He isn’t shocked at all, in fact he’s a little amused at the fact that he has a five hundred year old vampire wrapped around his finger like this.</p><p> </p><p>“That was quick,” Zuko says when he answers. He hears Azarin huff out a laugh.</p><p> </p><p>“I have a lot to say, and I wanted to talk to you as soon as possible.” Azarin pauses, and it’s a little awkward, or maybe that’s just how Zuko feels. “Thank you for giving me a chance to talk, Zuko. I really appreciate it.”</p><p> </p><p>When Zuko responds, he purposely makes his voice sound harsher than he actually feels. “I don’t know why. Like I said, I should be dispensable to you.”</p><p> </p><p>“But you’re not, and there’s a reason for that,” Azarin sounds like he’s trying to reassure Zuko, but it isn’t clear. “I want you to know that this is going to sound crazy. But I was supposed to die five hundred years ago and I didn’t and that’s crazy, too. So I guess crazy isn’t out of the question, here.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re rambling,” Zuko points out. He’s glad that Azarin isn’t there to see the small smile that forms on his face. Zuko doesn’t even know what he’s smiling about. Maybe he misses the banter between him and Azarin, even if it’s only been a day.</p><p> </p><p>“Right.” Azarin lets out a breath before continuing. “I was born into royalty. I was a prince, I was an only child, and I was expected to continue the royal bloodline by finding a girl to make my wife. I was expected to have children and raise them just like my parents raised me, and their parents before them, and so on. But, obviously, I don’t exactly <em> like </em> women in that way. Or...I didn’t, at the time. I’m much more open to the idea after a few centuries of existence, but that’s beside the point.”</p><p> </p><p>This definitely piques Zuko’s interest. “Open to the idea? So you’ve never done anything with girls at all?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I definitely have, but I have to be in the mood for it. I go through <em> moods </em> quite often. Right now, I’m in the mood for men. Obviously.” Zuko swears he can hear the smile in Azarin’s voice, but he doesn’t want to jump to conclusions. “Anyway...I had expectations to meet, and I didn’t meet them. I was nineteen and I hadn’t shown any kind of an interest in girls at all. My parents started to throw noblemen’s daughters at me constantly and got pissed when I wouldn’t court them, but I felt like I was saving myself for something better, for <em> someone </em> better. That turned out to be true. When I met Kozu, it really felt like love at first sight. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that again until I met you.”</p><p> </p><p>This takes Zuko by surprise and he tries to hide the gasp that escapes him. His heart speeds up. “M-Me? Why me?” It’s all he can get out because he’s still in shock. Nothing prepares him for what Azarin says next.</p><p> </p><p>“Because you look exactly like him.”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko feels like his stomach sinks into his feet. His hand shakes as he holds his phone to his ear. What the actual <em> fuck </em> is happening? “I...what?”</p><p> </p><p>“I wish it didn’t sound as crazy as it does, and I wish there were a better way to put it, but there isn’t. You look just like him, Zuko. I think you’re descended from him, actually. I haven’t been able to prove that yet, but it almost <em> has </em> to be true. Your blood even tastes similar to his.”</p><p> </p><p>This is almost too much for Zuko’s mind to handle, but Azarin had warned him that it was going to sound crazy, and it definitely sounds a hundred and ten percent crazy. Zuko is just trying his best to keep up. “But...what about...what about my scar? There’s no way--”</p><p> </p><p>“Kozu’s home caught fire and he was burned trying to save his sister,” Azarin interrupts him. Zuko blinks, trying to process it all. “He didn’t save her. His family lost their home and livelihood, and they chose to work as servants for the royal family so they would have a place to live and a way to make money. That’s how I met him...he washed laundry at the palace. We were friends for a while but I was so deeply in love with him that he noticed, and he felt the same way. I don’t know how I got so lucky to find the one person that made me feel like I could do or be anything on a daily basis, but he did it, and I loved him for it.”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko is stunned. The part of him that isn’t shocked is enjoying hearing Azarin talk about his first love, but then he remembers that the only reason Azarin is even talking about it is because Zuko looks <em> exactly like him, </em> even down to the scar. The only reason Azarin is even his roommate is because he looks exactly like Kozu. Zuko wonders if he acts like him too, if he has some long descended habit that Kozu had, or if he has the same voice, has the same sense of humor. He wants to be mad. Zuko wants to be angry with Azarin, because their friendship had been nothing but one huge lie and manipulation. But in reality he’s just...sad. He feels sad for Azarin. Zuko can’t even imagine being alive for five hundred years and running into someone who looks exactly like your first love. Zuko would become obsessed. He doesn’t know how Azarin hasn’t been more obvious before now.</p><p> </p><p>“What happened after that?” Zuko asks, curiosity in his voice. “What happened to him? Is he a vampire, too?”</p><p> </p><p>Azarin takes longer than Zuko expects to respond and Zuko supposes that this must be difficult to talk about. Azarin isn’t normally this open to begin with, so being upfront while also talking about his first love that isn’t around anymore? It must be heartbreaking, Zuko thinks.</p><p> </p><p>“He did become a vampire, yeah. But that was several years after we first met. We went around in secret for two years until a servant caught us kissing in my bedroom and told my parents. He was banished from the palace and so was his family, and it was my fault.” The pain and sadness in Azarin’s voice stings, and Zuko isn’t even the one that experienced all this. He’s just listening. Azarin’s voice is nice to listen to, but he’s also genuinely interested in what Azarin is saying. His voice is just a plus.</p><p> </p><p>“I was then forced into an arranged marriage with a girl that didn’t even want anything to do with me, she just wanted my family’s money. I didn’t have to endure that for too long, though, because the palace was raided by vampires a year into the marriage. Apparently, my father had been giving a group of extremely old vampires humans to feed on in exchange for money and help running the country. He double crossed them and they killed everyone in the palace except for me...their leader turned me. I’ll never know why he did, and sometimes I wish he didn’t. Zhao is cruel and heartless and he’s abused his power over me far too many times for my liking.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait…” Zuko cuts in, shaking his head a little and sitting up from the bed. The blankets fall off him and the air is cold, but he doesn’t care. “Zhao? As in Zhao Vampire Industries? <em> He </em> turned you?”</p><p> </p><p>“He did. He is <em> very </em> old. Some people think he was one of the first vampires ever made, but there’s no proof behind that. He was the one that started the movement to integrate vampires into modern society, but it’s all just a front for power. He has bigger plans for the future, and they’re terrifying for humans.” After saying this, Azarin pauses and then starts apologizing. “Shit, I’m sorry, Zuko. I know things like that scare you. I didn’t mean to say it like that...I don’t even think you’ll be alive when that happens. He plays the long game. The <em> extremely </em> long game.”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko nods absently, even though Azarin can’t see it. “I-It’s okay...continue your story. Zhao turned you, but what happened to Kozu?”</p><p> </p><p>“After I was turned, I searched for him. It took me a few years because being a newborn is fucking hell. All you think about is blood and how to get it. It was like I was a teenage boy with hormones all over again, only this time I was accidentally killing people instead of fucking them.” The way Azarin just casually talks about taking people’s lives stuns Zuko for a moment or two, and he has to try extremely hard not to freak out. Those people he killed wouldn’t be alive today even if Azarin <em> hadn’t </em> killed them. “When I found him, he had a family. He seemed happy. He had a little boy that could barely walk and a daughter learning to read. I watched him for several days because I was too afraid to confront him, too afraid that I’d end up hurting him or his family. I finally decided to talk to him when I followed him one night and he ended up in an alley, pleasuring men for money. He wasn’t actually happy with his life; he was still hiding this part of himself. I wanted to set him free, I wanted him to embrace himself, to embrace happiness. So I confronted him in that alley, and we went to an inn and had sex. I still loved him so much that I controlled my bloodlust, and to this day he is the only human I haven’t bitten during sex.”</p><p> </p><p>Azarin talking about biting during sex isn’t something Zuko <em> wants </em> to be turned on by, but he can’t control how his body reacts to it. Zuko’s hand goes to his neck again, recalling the warm tingles that sent him over the edge, the blissful feeling of Azarin’s tongue lapping up the blood that spilled from his throat. Zuko shudders and his dick twitches in his shorts. He hates himself, because the memory should be absolutely disgusting to him, but it isn’t. It’s almost too erotic to think about, and Zuko hates his mind for painting it that way.</p><p> </p><p>“He wanted me to meet his family,” Azarin continues, unaware of Zuko’s internal battle with his own dick. “But I had to explain to him why that wasn’t a good idea. Just because I loved him enough to control myself around him doesn’t mean I’d be able to with his wife or worse, his children. I didn’t want to hurt them, and he was trusting me way too much after finding out I was a vampire. He wanted me to turn him so we could be together, but that wouldn’t be fair to his family. He couldn’t just leave them and disappear like that...he was their only source of income, he was the only way they had food to eat and a place to live, and he was willing to put them out into the streets just to be with me forever. Even though it didn’t sit right with me, it was still a sweet sentiment.”</p><p> </p><p>“So did you do it? You said he was a vampire...did you end up turning him?” Zuko feels like he’s watching some kind of period movie with vampires in it, or listening to an audiobook about a vampire love story. It isn’t processing with him immediately that this is Azarin’s life. Azarin experienced this, even if it happened hundreds of years ago.</p><p> </p><p>“I did. Unfortunately,” Azarin sighs out. “I met his family the next day, after I fed so I wouldn’t be hungry enough to attack them. His children were terrified of me. His wife was warm, and sweet, and kind. She welcomed her husband’s old friend like a member of her own family, completely unaware that Kozu had slept with me the night before...completely unaware that he was in love with me. It broke my heart and I told Kozu that I couldn’t turn him because the fate of his family would be on me, whatever happened to them would be my fault. He ended up taking that decision away from me by stabbing himself and forcing me to heal him with my blood, and then he killed himself in front of me.”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko gasps without realizing it. “Holy shit...he was fucking insane…”</p><p> </p><p>“No. He was in love, and I had told him how becoming a vampire works to prepare him for it if we decided to do it. That was my first mistake. I had forgotten that however intensely I felt for him, he felt the same for me, and he was unhappy with his life. He was willing to die to be happy again.” Azarin pauses a moment or two, but Zuko doesn’t say anything. “Love can make us seem insane, Zuko. The things we can do for love seem irrational and crazy, but if the end result is happiness, someone may be willing to do absolutely anything to attain it.”</p><p> </p><p>For some reason, Zuko feels like Azarin is speaking directly to him, and not talking about the story anymore.</p><p> </p><p>“I was angry with him, but the damage was done. When he woke up, he fed, and became a vampire. We left immediately. After a few years of trying to get his bloodlust under control, I realized that it wasn’t going to happen. Mine had settled after a little under a decade of being a vampire, but his seemed to get worse as time went on. He was always insatiable and completely reckless when it came to getting blood, and he had successfully forced us out of every single city we settled ourselves into by overfeeding and killing. He wasn’t the person I fell in love with anymore...he was a monster, and he was drawing attention to us everywhere we went. Zhao was breathing down my neck about remaining hidden and I had no idea what to do, so I found his family again. His children were young adults by this point -- his daughter had a son -- and I thought that maybe seeing how much they had grown would make him value human life again.”</p><p> </p><p>A pit grows in Zuko’s stomach because he somehow knows that this didn’t work. If Kozu isn’t around anymore, then something had to have happened, and he’s guessing that this was the tipping point. Zuko grows anxious to hear the rest of the story.</p><p> </p><p>“I thought it had worked, at first. Kozu saw his children and even though his family was afraid, they let him hold his grandchild. There was something warm in his eyes again when he looked at the baby and I thought for the smallest of seconds that he was going to change, but I was wrong. His fangs extended and I acted immediately; I took the baby from Kozu and gave him back to his mother, and then we fought. He ended up trying to use his son’s life as leverage to get me to stop fighting him, and it worked, but then Kozu did the unthinkable...he killed his son. He drained his son of blood and then went to his wife to do the same. I rushed his daughter and the baby outside but he followed us, stopping us by cutting his daughter on the neck just to watch me try to hold myself back from biting her. He was cruel and taunting, and I knew that the moment I gave in and drank her blood, he would kill the baby. But she was brave, and a good mother; she gave her son to me and threw herself at her father, allowing him to kill her so I could get her baby to safety.”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko isn’t surprised. Kozu sounds like he couldn’t handle being a vampire, he sounds like the kind of vampire that Zuko is absolutely terrified of, instead of the kind that goes to college and drinks wine on the weekends. “Did you raise the baby? I mean...I assume he lived, if I’m descended from him, but did you raise him? Or did you give him to someone?”</p><p> </p><p>“I tried to raise him, but every time I would settle somewhere, Kozu would show up and try to kill us both.” At this point, Azarin sounds like he’s reciting lines. Zuko supposes that he has to cut himself off from feeling anything as he tells this story, otherwise he might get too emotional in the middle of it. If Zuko’s life was this insane, he’d be emotional about it constantly. “I knew Kozu wouldn’t give up until one of us or both of us were dead. So, I used his grandson to lure him somewhere, and when Kozu tried to kill him, I ripped his heart from his body and watched the life leave him for the second time.”</p><p> </p><p>“Azarin…” Zuko starts, but trails off, and doesn’t exactly know what he wants to say. He’s shocked and feels bad for Azarin, but also all of this just seems so surreal at the same time. There’s so much death and blood and heartbreak...if Zuko experienced any of this, he would be in a mental institution trying to keep himself from losing his mind completely. But he guesses that Azarin has had a very long time to learn how to cope with what happened. “I...I’m so sorry all this happened to you. You were just trying to be with the person you loved, and he became a monster and ruined it all…”</p><p> </p><p>To Zuko’s surprise, Azarin actually laughs a little. It sounds forced. “Don’t apologize, Zuko. This was all a very long time ago, and I’m only telling you so you know what I’ve been through in regards to Kozu. You need to know so you can understand why I’m so attached to you without us really knowing each other very well. You look just like him, and you share similarities to how he was as a human. It’s like...it’s almost like…”</p><p> </p><p>“Like I'm who he was when you fell in love with him?” Zuko finishes. Azarin sighs again.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah. Your scar, your smile, the way you smell, even your name.” When Zuko lets out a confused “huh?” Azarin goes on to explain. “Zuko is Kozu inverted...it’s what I named his grandson and I even compelled the human family I gave him to to keep that name.”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko blinks. “Zuko is what my family names all their firstborn sons. It’s been a tradition in my family for generations...<em> you </em> started that?”</p><p> </p><p>Azarin laughs again, but this time it actually sounds genuine. “I guess I did. It’s a nice name. You’re welcome.”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>By the time Azarin and Zuko get off the phone, Sokka and Katara are both home. Zuko is starving but he hadn’t wanted to end his conversation with Azarin. He was having a good time talking after Azarin had finished telling him the story about Kozu. Zuko asked him about the rest of his life, about history, about anything he could think of. He’s starting to think that actually <em> knowing </em> Azarin and having Azarin be open with him instead of hiding so much about himself...it’s making Zuko view him differently. Entirely differently.</p><p> </p><p>When Zuko finally wanders out to find food, he’s greeted with Katara and Sokka watching a movie together. Suki is also there, next to Sokka, with her head resting on his shoulder. They’re super cute and Zuko isn’t going to act like they aren’t.</p><p> </p><p>“I was starting to think you’d never see the light of day again, Zuko,” Sokka comments when he sees him. Suki smiles and gets up, wrapping her arms around Zuko and kissing his cheek before returning to sitting next to Sokka.</p><p> </p><p>“I, uh...I was on the phone with Azarin for a while and now I need food.” Zuko smiles at Suki and moves past them to the kitchen. He searches the fridge for some cold pizza and when he closes the door, Katara is behind it. Zuko jumps a little and almost drops his food. “Can you <em> not </em> do that, please?”</p><p> </p><p>“I hear you had a nice conversation today,” she says, with a grin that Zuko chooses to ignore as he turns to get a plate for his pizza.</p><p> </p><p>“We <em> just </em> got off the phone and he’s already told you what we were talking about?” Zuko puts his pizza in the microwave and turns back to face Katara. “Why are you two like this?”</p><p> </p><p>Katara shrugs. “He was texting me while you were talking, actually. You’ve made him really happy today.” She leans against the counter and looks him over. Her eyes look hungry, but not in a vampire way. Zuko’s heart skips a beat; amongst all the chaos, he’d forgotten that Katara likes to flirt with him. “And to think, all this started because I wanted to fuck you. You should be thanking me, I think.”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko stares down at her finger as it slides across his chest and then the microwave dings, but he stays put, afraid to move. “Thanking you for what?”</p><p> </p><p>“Azarin opening up to you? Getting to know things about him that you didn’t know before? You’re not grateful for that?” Katara looks skeptical, and Zuko finally gathers the strength to look away. He gets his pizza out of the microwave and starts eating it as Katara continues. “Azarin doesn’t let himself get close to people, or care about people, especially not humans. I’m the last person he got close to and he hasn’t made any real friends in a century, so even if you <em> didn’t </em> look like the first person he ever loved, this would still be a huge thing for him. You should be grateful for that. To him...being grateful to me was a joke, if you didn’t pick up on that.”</p><p> </p><p>Katara starts to walk out of the kitchen, then stops to add, “Still...I wouldn’t mind fucking you, though. Too bad Azarin’s claimed you.”</p><p> </p><p>Before Zuko can even think of something to respond with, she’s gone.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>It’s a few days before Zuko sees Azarin again. He goes back to class, but comes back to Katara’s house and spends time with them before going to bed. It’s a boring routine, but he fits in text conversations with Azarin any chance he gets, which is quite often. They don’t have any classes together so it takes Katara inviting Azarin over for another movie night for Zuko to actually agree to see him again.</p><p> </p><p>He’s nervous, if he’s being honest. Zuko still isn’t quite sure where they stand, because even though he’s over the whole lying and manipulating thing after Azarin explained why he did it...there’s still the issue of him being a vampire, and whether or not Zuko wants to acknowledge his feelings about what they did that night. It felt good to kiss Azarin. It felt <em> right, </em> almost, even if Zuko is afraid that what he feels is just because of some weird link to his ancestor. He wants to try, because Azarin is trying. Zuko has to take risks in his life at some point, and why not start out dating a vampire?</p><p> </p><p>Sokka being a self proclaimed connoisseur of horror, the movie they’re watching has to be scary. Azarin and Katara never even flinch but Zuko and Sokka are jumping every few minutes, and Zuko even lets out a soft squeak at some point. When he jumps so hard that he spills the popcorn Katara made, she rolls her eyes and goes to make more after he helps her clean it up. While she’s gone, Azarin moves down the couch and wraps an arm around Zuko’s shoulders.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you need me to keep you safe from the scary ghosts?” Azarin’s voice is amused, and Zuko would normally scoff and shove him away, but this time he doesn’t. This time, he leans into Azarin and hides his face in the other’s neck.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, please,” Zuko murmurs, and he can feel Azarin laugh through his chest. He also hears Sokka make a disgusted sound and move to where Azarin had been sitting on the other end of the sofa.</p><p> </p><p>It’s nice, having Azarin close. It actually makes Zuko feel a little more safe, like the night he slept in Azarin’s bed after his nightmares. Zuko hides his face in Azarin’s chest every time he wants to <em> not </em> see something scary on the screen, and it’s almost like Azarin can sense the jump scares about to happen, because he holds Zuko a little tighter before one ends up scaring him half to death. By the time the movie is nearing its conclusion, Zuko is basically on top of Azarin, hiding in his neck. The movie goes silent for a few moments so Zuko thinks it’s over and he pulls his head up to turn and look at the screen, but then something loud happens and his head is turned to face Azarin.</p><p> </p><p>Zuko’s heart speeds up and it isn’t because of the movie. Azarin’s eyes are soft and concerned, like he’s <em> genuinely </em> worried about Zuko’s safety because of some stupid scary movie. It’s cute and endearing, and Zuko smiles softly as he looks Azarin’s face over. Then Azarin is leaning forward and captures Zuko’s lips with his own and it’s so soft that Zuko barely notices it’s happening until he himself deepens it.</p><p> </p><p>Zuko feels more safe than ever. He feels like he could risk anything and still be okay, and that scares him because even just kissing Azarin is a risk. Azarin is a vampire, but Zuko somehow knows that Azarin won’t hurt him. Biting him had been an accident, a result of doing something sexual far too impulsively, and that had actually been Zuko’s fault. Zuko thinks that now, if they take things a little slower...now, he can properly appreciate Azarin for everything he is. He’s just a man that’s been through a hell of a lot, and Zuko was brought into his life to help him heal. Zuko has absolutely no problem with that, even though he feels like he should. His similarities to Kozu don’t <em> make him </em> Kozu, and he’s pretty sure Azarin knows that. Azarin has never used the wrong name for him and that tells Zuko all he needs to know, because if he were in Azarin’s position, he knows he would be calling himself Kozu constantly. Azarin is a good person, even if he’s a vampire, and Zuko appreciates that more than Azarin knows.</p><p> </p><p>“Ugh, <em> seriously?! </em> Right next to us?” Sokka’s voice makes Zuko pull away from the kiss and his face flushes red as he grips Azarin’s shoulders. “Go to bed, you two. And don’t be loud. My room is <em> right </em> next to yours.”</p><p> </p><p>In an instant, Azarin has Zuko in his arms and they’re in the guest room with the door closed.</p><p> </p><p>Zuko has a lot of things to get used to.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>my favorite part of this whole thing is "bisexual biker gang" and that is what I'm gonna call sokka, zuko, and suki from now on.</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>